Day #2: Eating from my Pantry. I thought onions were necessary

Since my pantry is stocked with items that I have been dragging around for years, I decided the only way to make sure I get rid of it all without throwing it away was to not go grocery shopping. There will be no grocery shopping at all until Dec 31, while from January 2 through January 31 I will only buy fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and meat. Wine, beer, and soda, of course, are excluded ;-)
Here is the list of items I started out with in my freezer/refrigerator/pantry.

I like this self-imposed challenge. Sure, it’s only Day 2, and I imagine that on Day 23 I might be a little grumpy for bread, but for now this is engaging a few of my flash-in-the-pan passions-of-the-day.

For one, I’ve been waging a rampaging war against clutter, and if forgotten-about Tuna Helper in the back of the cabinet isn’t clutter, then I don’t know what is. For another, I’ve cut and cut and cut my budget on my recent frugality phase, and, really, the only place left to cut is in my grocery bill.

And the very latest topic that piqued my interest is wealth vs. happiness. I recently read a blog mentioning the book Happier, and while I haven’t read it yet (it’s on reserve at the library at the mo), the review mentions these intriguing tidbits:

“You don’t want to be rich — you want to be happy”

“Many of us (including me) get wrapped up in the belief that having more money is the key to a better life. But it’s not. The key to a better life is increased happiness. For some people, that does mean more money. But according to the research Tal Ben-Shahar shares in his book Happier, most of us would be better served by:
• Creating rituals around the things we love to do.
• Setting meaningful goals that reflect our values and interests.
• Playing to our strengths instead of dwelling on weaknesses.
• Simplifying our lives — not just the Stuff, but the time.”

To me, this translates to
• things we love to do (cooking, saving money, gardening)
• meaningful goals (have as many of my pennies working as possible, grow as much as I can to eat, remove processed food from our lives)
• Playing to our strengths (I think I can cook, I think I can garden)
• Simplifying our lives (self-explanatory)

Anyways, here’s how we fared tonight…

Pantry Item Finished:
Honey Dijon dressing

Pantry Items Used:
Salad:
• Spring mix lettuces
• Crumbled goat cheese
• Honey Dijon dressing (him)
• Raspberry hazelnut dressing (me)

Shrimp & Couscous
• Couscous
• Gourmet herb flavored gift oil
• Olive oil
• Raisins
• Last summer's garden zucchini
• Defrosted cooked shrimp
• Minced garlic
• Homemade chicken stock
• Homemade pesto
• Adobo
• Salt

Him:
That was great, Poopa. Thank you very much.

Me:
Yum.